Far Side Of The Pacific
by Another 'Ward' on the Barbie
Summary: Bella is sent to stay with her aunt in Australia while her parents try to fix their marriage. The people she meets there change her life forever.


**Title: Far Side of the Pacific**

**Pairing:** Edward and Bella

**Rating:** M

**Summary: **Bella is sent to stay with her aunt in Australia while her parents try to fix their marriage. The people she meets there change her life forever.

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>_I do not own Twilight, or any of the characters, I just transplanted them to somewhere from my own teenage years._

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><p>I sat on the beach where the creek met the sea and gazed out onto the Pacific. No matter how many times I had been here it was still strange to see the Pacific Ocean from the other side.<p>

I normally live in the Pacific Northwest of the United States so the ocean itself was the same one but it was worlds away.

I let my mind drift back to the first time I came here, to the time my life changed irrevocably, to the time I first met Edward Cullen.

It had been summer here, but winter back home. Mum and Charlie were trying to have a second honeymoon to see if they could recapture the romance in their marriage. I knew it was probably unsalvageable and I was only 15. But they were determined to try so I was sent to spend Christmas with Charlie's sister, my Aunt Tanya in Australia.

Tanya had married an Australian man when she was just out of college, he had been an exchange student in her horticulture course and they had fallen madly in love. Aunt Tanya was always looking for an adventure according to my Dad so when Peter suggested moving back to his home town she jumped at the chance.

I didn't know how much adventure there was to be had living in a town with little more than a thousand people living there but it seemed to work for them. They had been happily married for twenty years and had two children, my cousins Rosalie and Jasper. I had only met them once when they came to our grandfather's funeral two years earlier. They intimidated me.

I found it hard to believe we were related. Where I was short and dark haired, Rosalie and Jasper were both tall and blond. Jasper was the same age as me and Rosalie was 18 months older. If you looked at Charlie and Tanya side by side there was no way anyone would guess they were brother and sister. Charlie always joked that perhaps my grandmother had been involved with the milkman but the reality was Tanya was the image of my grandfather and Charlie, and therefore me, had gotten our looks from my grandmother.

I was scared to spend Christmas with people who were little better than strangers to me. Aunt Tanya always sent me strange gifts for birthdays and Christmas but I didn't know them. My parents needed this though so I packed my summer clothes into my suitcase in the middle of winter and set off on my journey across the Pacific.

It wasn't a simple trip. I had to be driven from Forks to Seattle, then fly to Los Angeles, where I would board a flight to fly to Sydney and then I would be met at the airport by Aunt Tanya and we would drive north for almost 6 hours until we got to Crescent Head. Uncle Peter managed the golf course there and Tanya ran the office at the caravan park.

I was disoriented and exhausted when I finally made my way through Customs and Immigration. I wheeled my case behind me and looked around fruitlessly for Aunt Tanya. Then suddenly she was screeching at me and running toward me from the other side of the waiting area.

"Bella, Bella, oh my, you are such a lovely young woman now!" She wrapped me in a one armed hug and grabbed my suitcase handle with her free hand.

"Let's go, I've got the car in the short term parking area and don't want to get caught by the brown bombers for being there too long." I had no idea what she was talking about but was too overwhelmed to ask so I just nodded at her.

"Hi Aunt Tanya. Thank you so much for letting me come. I know this means a lot to Dad."

She stopped short and turned me to look her in the eye.

"Isabella, we are family, we never have to ask or say thank you for opening our home to family. It's your home too. Now let's get out of the big smoke and back to our neck of the woods." Tanya had been here long enough that her accent had morphed into some weird amalgamation of an Australian and an American accent. But it seemed she had certainly taken on the local expressions because I could barely follow what she was saying.

"The kids are looking forward to seeing you, they are still in school until Friday but after that they are on summer holidays so I think they have a lot of beach time planned. Are you a strong swimmer Bella?"

"Well, I guess so? I'm not fast or anything but I've known how since I could walk, Charlie taught me down at La Push?" I'm not sure if that will count as strong but that's as good as it gets.

"Of course, you should be fine, I know my brother would have taught you well enough to ensure you would be fine in case you ever fell out of his fishing boat."

I nodded at her and tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn.

"I'm sorry Bella, I forgot how tired you must be, I'll stop yakking and you can try and sleep if you like, we've still got hours in the car yet."

Relieved by her offer I drifted to sleep as she drove us further and further north towards her small town and my home for the next six weeks.

Tanya woke me up about an hour before we reached Crescent Head, she wanted to make sure I was properly awake as we got there. We drove through some scrubby looking bushland before we came upon a small town at the bottom of a hill. We kept driving until we were almost at the ocean before we turned into a driveway.

"Well, here we are, let's get you settled in shall we. Now the house doesn't really have any extra beds but seeing as I manage the caravan park that is attached what we have done is set you up with your own caravan that attaches to the patio of the house. It gives you a bit of your own space, is that okay with you?" She was waving her arm at a small trailer that was backed up to the house as she spoke so I assumed that was what she meant when she said caravan.

"Whatever you think will be the best set up is fine for my Aunt Tanya. Would it be okay if I take a shower, I feel kind of grimy after being on the plane for so long?"

"Of course, now the bathroom situation is this, there is a small toilet in your caravan but to save cleaning it out it's probably better if you just use the one in the house, you'll have to shower in the house anyway. Come on, I'll show you through the house on the way to the bathroom."

Their house was a little on the small side, with lots of dark wood exposed beams and tiled floors in every room except the bedrooms. Once I was showered and dressed in summer clothes I found Aunt Tanya in the bright yellow kitchen.

"There you are possum, I made you a snack. The kids will be back from school in about an hour and Peter gets back from work about six. Now your Dad said you don't have any food allergies or anything, is that right? I was planning on having a barbecue tonight to welcome you to an Australian summer."

While Tanya was talking I was looking at the snack with some trepidation, it was bread that had been buttered and then had some sort of brown stuff spread thinly over it.

"Um, no allergies and barbecue sounds fine. What's this though?" I held the bread up as evidence.

"Ha, ha,oh I forgot. That is vegemite Bella. It's my kids favourite after school snack. I forgot you would never have eaten it. Um, how do I describe it? It's a savoury spread that was invented here. It looks awful but it really is quite tasty dear."

I didn't to be rude so I bit into the bread and was surprised by the flavour. It was salty and strong but I could see the appeal.

Tanya and I talked until we heard a bus rumbling down the street.

"Sounds like the kids are home, they are so excited to see you. Jasper's girlfriend Alice has been dying to meet you too." I panicked a little, hoping that they wouldn't be coming home with friends in tow, they were intimidating enough on their own but at least they were family. I wasn't sure how I would cope with real strangers.

Unfortunately I didn't have time to prepare because it wasn't just two blonde heads I saw coming in the door, I counted five heads, although one of them appeared to be staying outside under the porch and I started to half duck behind Aunt Tanya.

"Bella, you made it! I want to introduce you to the future Mrs Whitlock, my lovely girlfriend Alice Cullen. Alice, this is my cousin Bella."

Jasper had swept me into a quick but powerful hug before thrusting me towards the tiniest girl I had ever seen. She looked like a woodland fairy, she was petite, with short dark hair and the most elfin looking features I had ever seen outside a story book. She was beautiful in an entirely different way to Rosalie but beautiful all the same. I was starting to feel like the ugly step sister in comparison to the girls around me.

"I'm so glad you are here Bella, for the last two years Jasper and Rose have been telling us about their Yankee cousin and since they found out you were coming for the summer I have been counting down the days until you arrived."

"Alice, let me at my cousin, she is _my_ cousin after all." Rosalie stepped forward and hugged me.

"Bella, it's nice to see you again. I wanted to make another introduction, this is Emmett Cullen, Alice's big brother and my boyfriend." I looked up and saw the biggest teenage boy I had ever laid eyes on. How could he possibly be related to the little elf girl I just met?

"G'day Bella, any relo of Rosie's is all right by me. Once we finish up at school on Friday we're going to have a ripper summer." I had no idea what the giant was saying to me. I was starting to think I should have asked for a translation guide. I knew they were speaking English but half of the words didn't make sense.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you both. I hope I don't get in the way during your summer vacation."

Jasper snorted, "Bells, there is nothing to get in the way of, just lazy summer days by the beach. Oh, that bloke out there is Alice's twin brother Edward. He didn't want to intrude, it being your first day and all. We told him that was daft but he insisted on waiting outside."

"Um, okay? He can come in, I don't mind. I don't want you to do anything differently just because I am here."

"Hey, did you hear that you drongo? Get inside and meet Bella, it's rude to sit out there like a shag on a rock" Jasper yelled loudly out the door.

I watched as the boy unfolded himself from the chair he was in and came towards the door. As he stepped inside my heart rate sky-rocketed. I had really only started to notice boys in the last few months and to be honest having grown up with all the boys in Forks none of them appealed to me but I felt like this boy had suddenly awakened every hormone in my teenage body.

He thrust his hand towards me as he spoke;

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Edward Cullen, you're Bella? Welcome to Australia. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself right away but I thought you might be overwhelmed with all these new people in a new country."

I took his hand and warm tingles shot through me, waking up feelings I could not even identify. I knew as I looked in his clear green eyes that reminded me of Forks that my life had changed the moment I met Edward Cullen.

I was amazed that of all these people, including Aunt Tanya, the only one who even considered that I might be overwhelmed with all these new people in this strange place was the beautiful 15 year old boy in front of me.

"Mum, can we show Bella the beach before dinner?" Jasper was obviously feeding off the excitement I could literally see coming from his girlfriend.

"Sure honey, just remember Bella is probably still off kilter with time zones and things so don't go for too long." At least Aunt Tanya was taking that into consideration.

I followed the others out the fly-screen door and was stopped short when Rosalie spoke;

"Hey Bella, do you have some thongs to wear to the beach?"

I was horrified and had no idea how to answer her, surely she didn't expect me to wear a thong on the beach, oh god I hope she wasn't going to wear one.

"Uh, um, yea-, uh, what?" was the eloquent reply I managed to sputter out, feeling myself blush what I was sure was beet red.

"Here, I have a spare pair in my back-pack, they should fit." Alice was thrusting something at me. It was only then that I noticed that they had all stopped to remove their leather school shoes and replace them with flip-flops, a pair of which Alice was stretching out to give me.

I guess thong must mean something else here then.

Once we had all donned a pair of flip-flops we set off, a short walk through the side of the caravan park and across a road and we were in a park filled with picnic tables and playground equipment. I could see the ocean twinkling in the afternoon light off to my right. We kept moving past the small children on the play equipment and through a line of trees until we came to a wooden footbridge stretching the distance across a creek. It was beautiful in such a different way than what I was used to. This looked nothing like the beaches at La Push.

On my left as we made our way across the bridge was a meandering creek with a few people dotted along it just floating down stream. To my right was the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, from where the creek let out and continuing on beyond the horizon. And almost straight ahead was what looked like an endless tract of pristine white sand, with green covered dunes on one side and the ocean on the other. It truly looked like it extended for miles.

As I looked around feeling awed by the sights I was taking in I noticed one other thing, Edward was staring at me. I caught his eye and he gave me a small smile.

"Do you like it Bella? Do you think you will enjoy your time here?"his voice was soft and comforting but the look in his eyes was so hopeful and almost expectant. I nodded and almost whispered my reply to him.

"Yes Edward, it's just lovely, everything I have seen so far leads me to think I will enjoy my visit very much." I wasn't just talking about the pretty beach and I wasn't sure whether I should hope he knew that. The grin that spread across his face made me think maybe he knew.

The others had situated themselves on the sand at the junction where the creek met the sea and Edward and I joined them there. Edward sat next to me but quite a distance was left between us. The group was chattering away as we sat there, although I wasn't paying a lot of attention to them, I was just trying to absorb the details of this place.

Across the creek, there was a boat ramp leading into the water and at the top I could see several men cleaning off their fishing catches. It made me think of Charlie and I hoped he and Renee were making progress towards whatever end they would reach after this trip they were taking. As sad as it made me feel I could only see one outcome and it wasn't going to be a happy one.

"So Bella, tell me about where you're from. What's it like there, who are your friends, is the shopping good, do you have a boyfriend?" Alice's barrage of questions drew me out of my mind and forced me to join in the conversation.

Edward chimed in and chastised Alice before I could answer, "Alice, don't be a stickybeak. Bella you don't have to answer her inquisition."

"It's okay Edward. There's really not much to say about Forks, it's a little bigger than here but not by too much, it rains a lot and it's all really green. Um, my best friends are Angela and Charlotte. I don't really like to shop that much, although Charlotte is always complaining about how far away she has to go to buy anything really good, so I guess the shopping isn't very good. And nope, no boyfriend. Did I get everything?"

I laughed a bit at the end there until I was suddenly aware that Edward was sitting a lot closer to me than he had been when we sat down. My laughter stopped abruptly when I looked at his face. Our eyes were locked and I felt like we were sharing secrets even though we weren't speaking.

Once again Alice's voice broke into my thoughts.

"Well Angela and Charlotte better watch out, I am sure that we will be the best of friends before you leave."

"I'll keep that in mind Alice. Rose, Jasper should we be heading back for dinner soon? I don't want to get in trouble with your Mom on my first day here."

Begrudgingly they agreed with me and we all rose to head back to Aunt Tanya's. As I stood I felt the most amazing tingle trail down my arm and when I looked I realised it was Edward brushing against me. He had somehow moved so closed that we were touching as we turned to leave. My stomach was full of butterflies as I thought about it, and imagined perhaps doing it on purpose in the future.

The rest of my first night was uneventful, we bade goodnight to the Cullens when we got back as they headed home and we got ready for dinner. Uncle Peter was a nice man and offered to show me around the golf course and the headland the following day while Aunt Tanya was at work and Jasper and Rosalie were at school.

"You might still be stuffed 'cause of the jet lag but if you want to take a gander at the golf course whenever you get up just call my mobile and I'll swing by and get you. It's only a walk from here but I don't want you to get lost."

"Thanks Uncle Peter, I'll see how I feel."

Jasper and Rose went to bed early because they still had school in the morning so I went back to my trailer and tried to sleep, knowing I should try and get acclimatised to the time zone.

When I woke the following morning it was to a hot bright morning coming through the window above my bed. I dashed into the house to use the bathroom and as I was making my way back to my trailer I noticed someone sitting on the step.

"Edward?"

His head shot up and a grinned a crooked smile at me as he saw me.

"Bella. I hope you don't mind me coming here?"

"Uh no, not at all but aren't you meant to be in school?"

"I told mum I was crook, I needed to see you and I wanted to do it alone, and regardless there was no way I could wait until the end of the day to see you."

I wasn't sure what to make of him coming here like this, and obviously faking illness in order to do so. I hadn't responded when he spoke again.

"Will you take a walk with me? I just wanted to get to know you properly."

"Okay, can I get some breakfast first?" As strange as his appearance here was there was no way I was going to turn down a chance to spend time with him.

Once I had eaten we set off, instead of heading toward the beach this time Edward walked directly to the right and towards the ocean. Once we passed the caravan park I could see the golf course where Uncle Peter worked. We turned to walk alongside the edge of the golf course, with the ocean on the other side of us down a rocky embankment where people were dotted along the rocks with fishing poles. Charlie would love this place.

We started to walk up a hill that was jutting out into the sea. So far Edward hadn't spoken.

"This is the headland, I thought we might sit at the top so we can talk." Edward seemed nervous, although I couldn't fathom why he would be. I just nodded to him and kept following him up the hill. Once we had reached the top Edward moved towards a park bench that had the perfect view of the immense ocean. We sat, closer than we had started on the beach yesterday but not as close as we had finished.

Edward took a deep breath and started speaking;

"Bella, I don't know how to explain myself properly but I will do the best I can. Something about you is calling to me. Something is telling me that I have to know you, that you are something vital in my life. I know it doesn't make sense because we just met yesterday but I feel like I already know you. Not the small things obviously, like what you like to eat and read and your favourite song and what you want to do when you finish school. But I feel like my soul knows yours and that we were destined to meet. God, I sound like a flaming idiot."

He was tugging at his hair, clearly feeling like he had failed to express what he was feeling. If I didn't suddenly realise that he must be feeling something similar to what had been stirred in me yesterday he might have failed, but I got it.

"No, Edward. I understand. It's the same for me. I knew yesterday that in just meeting you my life had changed." I was whispering again.

Edward stopped mid-tug and his hand stayed suspended in his hair while his eyes flashed to mine and his mouth dropped open.

"Bella" he was whispering too now, "can I hold your hand, please?" He looked so earnest that even if his request hadn't been something I had been thinking about since we accidentally brushed against each other the day before I still would not have denied him.

As I bit my lip and nodded he slid closer to me on the bench and the hand that had been in his hair tentatively reached for mine. Our fingers intertwined and although I was about as far away from Forks as I could be, I felt like I had arrived home.

We sat and shared the little details of our lives with each other as we looked out to sea and held hands. It was the nicest way I had ever spent a day. As we talked we realised that we had a lot of common interests despite living half a world apart.

We were laughing about an episode of The Simpsons when my world shifted on its axis again. We had edged ever closer on the bench as we sat there and our eyes met while we laughed. Our faces were inches apart and we both abruptly stopped laughing. Edward's eyes flicked from my eyes down to my mouth. I felt compelled to wet my lips with my tongue as the swarm of butterflies that had taken up residence in my stomach fluttered around wildly.

When Edwards's eyes met mine again they were a much darker green than they had been just seconds before, and a lot closer still. Ever so slowly he leaned towards me and time seemed to speed up and slow down at the same time. It felt both sudden and drawn out when his lips reached mine and we were kissing.

Even though I had never been kissed before my instincts took over and it seemed to escalate into a deeper kiss than should be natural for two fifteen year olds who just met. But it felt right as our tongues met. It felt right as my hands wove into his hair and his hands pulled me closer still.

It felt right as I shared my first kiss with an Australian boy sitting on the far side of the Pacific.

After we kissed that first time we walked back to Aunt Tanya's hand in hand, there would be no denying the connection we had found. We settled on the patio between the house and my trailer expecting Jasper and Rosalie back soon. Soon enough we heard the bus and then the chatter as they came home with Alice and Emmett in tow. They all abruptly came to a stop when they saw Edward and I sitting intertwined and their mouths all dropped open simultaneously.

Jasper recovered first, "Holy dooley! What is this? Edward? Bella? What?"

Before we could answer that seemed to set the others off and suddenly they were all talking at once.

"You said you were sick, how did, how?"

"This is just ace, oh my god, this is going to be the best summer."

"Well, I don't guess you're going to get homesick now."

I can hear the cacophony of their strong Australian voices like it was yesterday.

The summer seemed to move by far too quickly. There were snapshots of it in my mind that I would remember forever, forever filed away as the perfect summer, the perfect moments to be a teenager. Images of being chased down the sand and thrown, fully clothed, into the ocean. The feeling of total peace in floating down the creek on my back, hand in hand with Edward, until the current propelled us out the mouth of the creek and into the Pacific. The warmth of the Australian sun beating down on me, making the road so hot it was impossible to walk back from the store barefoot without doing a ridiculous dance to stop my feet from burning. My heart singing to me as Edward kissed every single new freckle that appeared on my nose because my pale, Pacific Northwest skin was shocked by the sheer number of sunny days. Sobbing to Aunt Tanya on the way back to the airport when the summer came to an end and I was forced to leave Edward behind and return home.

"Bella, I know it feels painful now but this was a teenage summer crush, a wonderful thing to have but you are both just kids and will move on soon enough." I know now that Tanya thought she was helping me but in the moments after she told me that I had never hated anyone more.

Edward and I had made promises to each other, we had exchanged leather cords to wear around our necks and with email a recent addition to both the Cullen and Swan homes we swore we would email each other at least every second day.

The memories would always be sharp because I had to draw on them in the days of sadness that consumed me after I left.

When I got back to Forks I refused to re-set my watch and preferred to keep it on the time zone where I had left my heart. I obsessively checked my email account and treasured every single word he wrote to me.

I was so locked into my own gloom that while I usually noticed the state of my parents' marriage it came as a shock six months later when they sat me down and told me they were getting divorced. The trip that was supposed to bring them back together had backfired in the worst possible way. My mother had met a man from Seattle on the on the cruise ship and had apparently been having an affair ever since. Not only that but one of her 'weekend spa trips' had left her pregnant and she was leaving my Dad to marry this guy and move to Seattle to raise their child together.

My Dad was devastated and had no idea what to do with himself, he still loved Renee and had tried his best to make her happy. School was about to let out for the summer, so I jumped at my shot to make a suggestion I hoped would make us both happier.

A week later school was out and Charlie and I were on a plane to Australia. I hadn't told Edward I was coming, I was just going to be waiting at the bus stop after he got home from school.

Once we got to Crescent Head and Charlie was settled in pouring his heart out to Aunt Tanya I got changed and walked to sit and wait at the bus stop. I was so excited I couldn't sit still so I wandered over to the playground equipment and sat down on the swing. I got so distracted by the swinging I missed the bus arriving, although what I saw when I glanced up made me a little glad I wasn't standing at the door as they all piled off the bus.

There, pressing herself into Edward's side was a very pretty blonde girl. She seemed to be chattering away and Edward didn't seem to be bothered or shocked by her presence. My heart stopped. I leapt off the swing and ran for the footbridge to the beach. I didn't want to be seen.

We had been in constant contact since I had left and he had never given me any indication his feelings had changed or that he had met someone else. I was terrified that I had made Charlie come all this way to find some happiness and all I was going to find was heartbreak. Since it was winter in Australia the ocean was dark and choppy, matching my inner turmoil, so I just sat on the sand and stared at it.

The sun was just starting to set when I noticed a shadow fall over me, I looked up shocked to find Edward standing there.

"Bella, my Bella. You're really here. Jasper told me your father was at his house and that you were somewhere around. I've been looking for you since he called me. Why didn't you come get me as soon as you got here?" Edward looked so happy to see me that I couldn't understand how it fit in with the girl I had seen hanging off him earlier.

"I did come to find you Edward, I was waiting in the park when you got off the bus but you looked, uh, occupied. So I came down here." I whispered hoping that perhaps I could hold in my emotions until I was alone again.

Edward started laughing at me.

"Ha, you dag, were you seriously worried about that girl who was talking to me?" I just nodded and looked down at the sand between my toes.

"Bella, that was Irina, she's the exchange student who is living with our next door neighbours. Her boyfriend is still in Russia and she was telling me all about him, after I had spent yesterday's bus ride telling her all about my beautiful American girlfriend. I know she might have looked a little affectionate but she does that with everyone, I think it's just how they do things where she comes from so I don't pay any attention to it. Although the first time she grabbed my arm I did squeal and tell her to let go because I love my girlfriend."

My heart stopped again, but for a totally different reason. His explanation had wiped away my worries until there was only one thought left in my mind.

"You love me?"

"Yes Isabella Marie Swan, I, Edward Anthony Cullen, love you and am so bloody happy to see you I might burst if you don't pash me soon."

A huge grin broke out across my face and I stood to look at him.

"Edward, I love you too." I spoke before pressing myself to him and capturing his lips with my own.

Once we were in each other's embrace I felt like I had arrived home again as we exchanged I love you's for the first time on the far side of the Pacific.

Again the trip went too quickly but Charlie, while still not happy at least seemed alive while fishing off the rocks, or on a small boat so he quickly agreed when Aunt Tanya suggested we come back again for Christmas. Charlie would go for a week for the holiday and I would stay for the entire break again, I would miss several weeks of school but my grades were good enough that my teachers were happy to have my submit make-up assignments when I got back.

Edward was thrilled with the plan and I was floating on cloud nine. The only thing that bothered us is that we missed each other's birthdays. Edward's had been a few weeks before I had arrived unexpectedly and mine would be a few weeks after I left. We vowed to make Christmas extra special to make up for it.

I felt like my regular life was only serving as waiting periods between when I could see Edward again. Our emails had stepped up to daily frequency and we called each other, very quickly, once a week. My friends in Forks were s little frustrated by my distracted nature, claiming even when I was physically there my mind was in Australia. I would have argued with them but they were right, I had left all the vital parts of myself in Crescent Head with Edward.

The Christmas break finally arrived and I was beyond excited to get back to Australia, to Edward. I was sixteen and had decided I was ready to try new things. That summer saw so many firsts for all of us.

One night, about a week after my Dad had returned to Forks Emmett came running at full pace towards our cluster of towels on the beach. He had just turned eighteen, which was the legal drinking age in Australia, which spelled trouble.

"All right kids, come up to the park after dark, our parents are all going into town for that fundraiser and we are having a barbie. I got an esky full of grog and you are all going to help me drink it."

The previous summer I would have had no idea what Emmett was saying but my understanding of Australian slang had deepened considerably, so I knew he was inviting us all to have a barbecue for dinner and then drink the alcohol he had stored in his cooler. I would normally decline any invitation for underage drinking being the daughter of a police chief but I was far from Forks and had already decided to enjoy whatever experiences came my way that summer. Although getting drunk hadn't been what I had in mind when I made that resolution.

Later that night I was regretting my choice, I think we all were. I had moved passed happy, left horny behind after some serious make-out and groping time with Edward, and was quickly descending into downright rotten drunk. Edward wasn't much better.

"Strewth, Eddie, you better take, hic, Bells to the dunny, she looks cactus, I think, hic, she's gonna hurl." My ability to interpret Emmett's heavy use of slang had apparently left me in a river of alcohol so I had no idea what he was saying to Edward. I didn't have time to work it out though because I promptly threw up.

The next morning I woke up with a pounding head and someone's foot in my face. I struggled to sit up with my caravan spinning. Once I was upright I realised the foot belonged to Alice, who was in my bed and I could see Edward passed out on the tiny sofa seat at the other end of the van. Before I could work out how we had all ended up in here there was a very loud bang that made my head want to explode and immediately after the bang I could hear Aunt Tanya screeching.

"Brekkies on kids, come and get it NOW."

Alice jumped up with a start and headed for the door, I stumbled along behind her as Edward blearily rubbed his eyes before following me. As we made it to the patio where Aunt Tanya was placing down a plate of her famous bacon and egg rolls I noticed Jasper asleep stretched out on the bench next to the picnic table. Emmett and Rosalie came out of the house looking like they had perhaps slept on the beach. Aunt Tanya pushed Jasper off the bench to wake him and looked each of us square in the eye before speaking.

"I'm saying this once and once only. There will be no additional punishment, you all look like you are suffering enough. Just remember how you feel today and let it be the lesson to you. Drinking like you obviously did comes with hangovers like you have now, so don't forget it. Right then, dig in to this tucker, trust me, the grease will help."

With that she stalked back inside and left us with our food. After our first drinking session our first hangovers suggested the drinking would not be something we repeated often.

A few weeks later Rosalie came into my caravan with tears in her eyes. I had seen Emmett and his parents go into the house about an hour earlier and assumed they were probably discussing living arrangements for when Rose and Emmett went off to college after the summer. I was wrong.

"Bella, I know you and Edward aren't having sex yet but when you do, please promise me you will make sure you use a franger." I looked at her wondering why she was giving me this talk now, did she know what I planned to do before the end of the summer? She didn't give me a chance to talk, she kept going but her tears got more pronounced as she continued.

"One time, just one time Emmett had run out and we were both really worked up so we went ahead and did it anyway, without a franger and now I'm up the duff and we can't go to uni. Emmett is going to get a job at the golf course with Dad and I have to find a part time job until the baby comes. And, we are getting married just before you go home." She broke down into sobs at the end and I pulled her into my arms and tried to soothe her.

"Rose, you love Emmett. You always told me you were going to marry him. So you are jumping the gun a little, as long as you go through this together you will be okay. I know you both wanted to go to college but maybe you can still do it long distance or something. Don't think of this as the end of anything Rose, this is just the start of a different, exciting chapter for you both."

Her cries subsided and she sat up smiling and despite her tear stained blotchy face she looked beautiful. Emmett stuck his head into the trailer at precisely the right moment and she went to him, accepting the hug he was offering her.

"Bella, thank you for that, you made me feel so much better. This wedding is going to be awesome, will you be my maid of honour?"

"Of course Rose, I would love to." And with that more firsts for our group happened that summer, first wedding, first pregnancy and first jobs.

I was still looking for an important first for Edward and myself.

I got it two weeks before I left for home.

It was the middle of the day, Aunt Tanya and Uncle Peter had taken Rosalie and Emmett into the next town to meet with the minister about the wedding, Alice who had taken to wedding planning like a girl possessed had dragged Jasper shopping for some random wedding related item. A summer storm had come in from sea earlier in the morning. Edward and I were alone. Despite my plans to do it before the summer ended I had not planned it on that particular day. We just started making out in my caravan while we listened to the rain.

It escalated as quickly as it usually did when we weren't in view of other people. We were sitting on the sofa seat and pressed as close together as we could get fully clothed. Edward's hand moved up my leg and under the hem of my skirt. He grazed past the edge of my panties but didn't immediately probe underneath, instead moving around to grab my ass and pull me into his lap. I ground myself onto him and immediately felt his hard-on pressing into me and apparently hitting somewhere good because I could not contain the moan that burst forth and was swallowed by his mouth greedily suckling on my tongue.

I moved to unbutton his shirt and as I pushed it from his shoulders I backed up slightly away from him and then took my own shirt and pulled it off over my head. I was solely running on instinct at this point but my body was craving this it seemed determined to get. Before I moved onto Edward's lap again I reached for my bra snap and flicked it open, letting the bra fall down. Edward's eyes bugged for about a second before he leaned forward, pulled me to him again and attached his mouth to my nipple. I moaned again, unable to contain the unbelievable feeling his mouth on my breast was creating deep inside of me.

My hands had wound themselves into his hair while his mouth worked on my breasts, alternating between them. I wanted more so slowly trailed one of my hands down his chest, across his stomach and finding the bulge in his pants I pressed down, then wrapped my fingers around it from the outside of his shorts. It was Edward's turn to moan as his mouth left my chest and he frantically attacked my mouth again.

His hands suddenly under my skirt and tugging at the sides of my panties, I lifted myself a little to help him in his quest. My soaked panties were discarded in the pool of shirts on the floor and gently Edward stroked up my leg before reaching my pussy. At first he cupped it with his whole hand before his long fingers opened my lips and stroked between them before pushing into my opening.

We both moaned this time.

"Ungh, Bella, so hot and so, so wet baby." We were both panting for breath and I looked up at him, struggling to keep my eyes open against the sensations his touch was giving me.

"Bed, now Edward. Bed." He gulped and nodded. We stood together and stumbled towards my bed because neither of us was willing to lose physical contact with the other. Just before we reached the bed I paused and pushed my skirt off, while Edward ripped open the velcro of his shorts and they followed. I decided then and there that I loved the sound of velcro opening, and I loved the fact that my boyfriend was apparently going commando.

We fell into each other's arms and onto the bed. I grabbed for one of the condoms Rose had seen fit to supply me with and handed it to Edward as I latched onto his mouth again. I reached to touch his cock for the first time without the barrier of clothing over it.

He felt hot and smooth in my hand and despite the fact that I knew I should be nervous about this, I wasn't, I just wanted to feel him inside of me.

He struggled a little to open the condom wrapper but just as I was about to help him, he got it open and rolled the condom down over himself.

"Baby, are you sure about this." My sweet boy asked me as he moved over me until he was basically hovering over my body.

"Edward, baby, I love you and ungh, this all feels so damn good, please make love to me."

He kissed me, deeply and I could feel him lining himself up with my entrance. I knew it would hurt some but I wasn't scared. Edward was the man I was supposed to do this with. Just before he pushed forward he broke the kiss and looked me in the eye with the most tender look I had ever seen on his face.

"I love you too Bella, so much."

And with that he thrust forward with a guttural groan. It stung for a moment but it wasn't awful or anywhere near as bad as I had feared. Edward leaned down and kissed me with so much passion I could have forgotten my own name as he continued to thrust into me. Warmth was spreading through me and I was really starting to understand the pleasure of sex when Edward's thrusting got a lot more erratic and he suddenly screamed out.

"Oh God, Bella, Bella, God, I love you, uhhhhhhhhhh." His hips stilled inside me and even though the rest of him wasn't moving I could feel his cock pulsing inside me and it felt amazing. I knew he had come and that I hadn't, not that I minded.

Slowly, Edward removed himself from inside of me, gently kissing me the whole time.

"I'm so sorry Bella, I know you didn't finish but I know how, I swear, Emmett told me. I just couldn't stop it. Are you okay? Did it hurt?" Edward was pressed into my side and was slowly trailing his hand up and down my inner thigh while he spoke.

"I'm fine Edward, there was a bit of a sting but it wasn't bad. And I don't mind not finishing, we can practice that a lot right?"

"Oh, we'll practice alright but now I know you aren't in pain, just wait."

And with that his hand moved towards my pussy and started making tight, fast circles around my nub. I had never felt anything so amazing, until his other hand joined in, with a finger slowly easing inside of me and then he curled it and sensations shot out of my body like I was on fire, I swear every nerve ending I had felt nothing but pleasure.

As the wonderful feeling started to subside Edward removed his hands and kissed me again.

We lay there just grinning at each other for an hour before we couldn't contain ourselves any longer and we made love again, this time he made me come while he was inside of me, my orgasm setting him off on his own.

So there, inside a caravan on a rainy summer day I shared my first time with the boy I loved on the far side of the Pacific.

Every chance we got for the remaining two weeks we made love, even managing to sneak off during Emmett and Rosalie's reception during the chicken dance for a quick go on a kayak in the storage room at the surf club.

As painful as leaving again was after that I knew that something had solidified about us that summer and no matter what we would make it back into each other's arms.

And so our lives continued like that for the next few years. We emailed daily, I visited during my summer vacation and made it there every Christmas for varied lengths of time. There was one blissful year in college when Edward was able to get a place in an exchange programme and he did a year on campus at Washington State with me, that year we travelled together for my regular visits. There was never a doubt about our relationship, we were committed to each other and nothing was going to come between us. We were both determined to protect our love despite the physical distance between us.

We continued to share more firsts together, most of them dirty firsts, like the first time we had sex on the beach, or the first time we gave each other oral, and then the first time we did that simultaneously, after I went on the pill there was the first time we made love without a condom. There were non-sex related firsts too, like the time I was able to make it to Crescent Head in time to go with Edward to his school formal, making it our first dance and the one stupid time we decided to jump, hand in hand of course of the out-cropping on the headland into the ocean.

Life continued to change for all of us, but our love never changed.

Rosalie and Emmett went on to have two children before I graduated college, the first was a little boy named Lachlan and then they had a baby girl called Sienna.

Alice and Jasper went to college together in Newcastle and were actually talking about moving to Seattle for a while. Alice and I had often discussed going into business together over the years we were at college, Alice had studied fashion design and I was just completing a business degree so we were considering opening a design business where Alice was the creative and I was the business end.

Edward was going to be an architect and couldn't wait to permanently leave Crescent Head for a place where he could design impressive buildings. Our connection never wavered and until last summer I thought we had shared all the firsts possible in the tiny vacation town.

Last summer I arrived from my flight into Sydney and instead of Edward picking me up, as had become our habit once he got a car, Alice was there.

"Bella, Bella, I'm so glad you are here. Edward forgot he had a final assessment due this afternoon so he had to get me to come and get you, he should get back into town a few hours after we do."

Alice hugged me with her usual enthusiasm but I could see she was worried I would be upset. While I was sad to miss a few hours with Edward, I was more than happy to be here and always loved time with Alice and if everything went to plan, this should be the last summer I had to leave without Edward. Once we graduated from college, me in June and Edward, Alice and Jasper in November we would start on plans to move them all to Seattle and start a new chapter.

"Alice, don't worry, we can get in some solid girl chatter in the car on the way back before your brother locks me away in the caravan with him for at least a few days."

The drive was long as always but Alice and I talked about our business plans, Emmett and Rosalie's kids, who would be so much bigger than when I saw them last and I told her about the woman that my Dad had met and how happy he seemed for the first time since Renee left him.

When we got to Crescent Head Alice helped me stash my bags in the caravan that was generally known as mine and suggested I go for a walk until everyone else got home. She turned me in the direction of the headland and sent me off.

It was a perfect idea, I loved to see the Pacific as soon as I arrived every time I came here. I made my way slowly up the path that led to the bench where Edward and I shared our first kiss. As I crested the last part of the hill I noticed there were flowers scattered all over the ground and I wondered for a moment what had happened up there.

Until I looked up and saw Edward standing in front of our bench holding a flower. Our eyes locked and he mouthed 'you're here' to me as I approached him. He didn't speak as I first reached him and instead of kissing me like I expected he grabbed my shoulders gently and sat me on the bench before kneeling in front of me.

"Bella, six years ago you came here shy and nervous and I knew when I saw you for the first time that we were meant to be together. We kissed for the first time less than a day later on this very bench and despite the fact that life and circumstances has kept us separated for much of these last six years, nothing was ever able to separate us where it counted, in our hearts. If I had thought anyone would have allowed us, or taken us seriously when we were fifteen I would have asked you this question the first time we kissed because I knew then that I wanted to, and I have known it every day since then. Isabella Swan, I love you and I promise to continue loving you for the rest of my life wherever that life takes us, would you do me the honour of marrying me?"

Tears were flowing silently down both our faces as Edward pulled a ring out of his pocket and looked at me with hope and love showing in every part of his face.

"Oh, Edward. I love you, so much, yes of course!"

My words were like a starters gun to him and he leapt off his knee, grabbed me and crushed me to him, kissing me fiercely as he did so. My arms snaked around him and our kisses threatened to go beyond what was acceptable in a public place. We slowly broke apart and Edward pulled my left hand up and slid the most beautiful diamond I had ever seen into place on my finger.

In the same place I had experience my first kiss I had just become engaged on the far side of the Pacific.

We once again strolled hand in hand back to Aunt Tanya's, this time to tell everyone our news and to begin another summer together. We had serious plans to make.

"Bella" I heard Edward's voice carry over to me as he crossed the footbridge.

I stood from the sand, my white dress billowing around my legs as it caught in the summer wind. I moved on my bare feet to meet Edward halfway and he wrapped his arms around me tight.

"There you are my wife, what are you doing over here, you're missing all the fun of our reception?" Edward enquired while kissing every inch of my face he could reach.

I sighed happily, contentedly, "My husband, my beautiful husband, I was just remembering all the wonderful times we had here. This place is so special to me, to our story. It will be strange not coming back all the time to see you."

"Just because I won't be living here doesn't mean we won't come back. Besides when we have babies we will bring them back all the time to see the place where their parents fell in love, to give them the chance for the happy, care-free summers we had as teenagers. This will always be our place." Edward was right. I knew I was just feeling nostalgic on our wedding day for all the moments that led us to this wonderful occasion.

We were married at the top of the headland right in the place where we had shared our first kiss and our families were up on the golf course celebrating. The following morning we would fly away from here and head back to Seattle, this time together, hand in hand, for the rest of our lives. While we were both looking forward to properly starting our life together, to living in the city and working and starting a family I was just so happy to have taken this important step here.

I looked down at our wedding rings, glinting in the fading summer sun before I looked up into Edward's glossy green eyes, he had been fighting tears of happiness all day. I beamed up at him, and he returned the smile that was reserved only for me.

"Edward, I love you, I'm so happy to have become your wife and no matter where our life takes us, this, right here will always be our side of the Pacific."


End file.
